A few of YOUR favorite names?

I was delighted and surprised by Pam and Linda's list: everything from affable Joe to exotic Araminta to name-nerd favorite Barnaby. I realized that if I had to make a list of my favorite dozen (without the onus of creating a cohesive sibset) they would be equally hodepodge, ranging from the trendy to the downright unwearable. Favorites don't necessarily have to be names you'd use as a first, or even use at all; everyone else might hate them, your SO might have vetoed them, even Nameberry might scorn them, but they're the names you love the most. Inspired by today's blog post, let's hear YOUR top 12 favorite names and why you love them!

My favorites, in no particular order:

Eloise: Rocketing up the charts? Yep. Trendy El- prefix? Yep. Do I care? Well...yeah, but I'm not giving Eloise up. The Top 100 can pry this name from my cold dead hands. Sailor: Every time I've brought up Sailor on Nameberry it's been vetoed. It's a sign of how much I love this name that I just can't get over it. I love the sleek sound and nautical imagery; plus it's a family name and an honor name. Oh, Sailor, why can't I quit you?Jane: The ultimate chic, feminine name. Jane has such understated elegance and panache. Sylvie: My most enduring favorite. Sylvie was the first name on my list and she's never left. I love the sound, the meaning...even seeing this name written down gives me a happy little shiver. Marlowe: Boy or girl, I don't care. Marlowe is my favorite playwright and makes for an incredibly stylish unisex choice.Marigold: The brightest, most summery of names. I particularly love it with the nn Maggie.Roscoe: This is one of the only names that gets me excited at the idea of having a son. I think Roscoe is incredibly cool and jazzy, and after a long sleep he's more than ready for a revival.Iris: A natural sister of Jane and Sylvie, Iris has the same sleek, subtle power. I love the connections to mythology, and the flower has personal meaning for me.Gabriel: I just adore everything about this name. If only Gabriel wasn't so popular! If I was to use it, I'd use the nickname Gale instead of Gabe. Miranda: Shakespeare created this name, which means "shimmeringly lovely". Perfection. Alas, like Zephyr this one sounds ridiculous with my last name. Were it otherwise I would use Miranda like a shot. I think she's terminally underrated in the name-nerd world, no doubt thanks to the oversaturation of Amandas.Juniper: Yes, another flower name. Juniper is sprightly and sweet and sassy and, well, I love it. Not the best sound with my last name, unfortunately...but what is?Benjamin: Like Gabriel, way too popular for my liking...but like Sailor, a family name and an honor name, not to mention a name I truly love. I would use the nn Benji, but I'm afraid it would be shortened to Ben (I know about thirty of these).

Let's hear yours!

ETA: How could I forget my beloved Marigold? And my equally beloved Juniper? This is harder than I thought! Kudos to Pam and Linda for collaborating on such a short, efficient, and excellent list.

I also loved the blog, it is fanstastic!
I love Jane and Benjamin the most from your list, they are my favorites too. I love your style.
My absolutely favorites(besides the ones in my signature)
Hattie - feminine and spunky with brilliant vintage feel. A dusty gem starting to be discovered.
Gwendolen - beloved grandma? Kind aunt? Precious daughter? Best friend? I love this name on every girl/woman and am also fond of nickname possibilities - Gwen, Dolly, Winnie, Lena thrill me so much.
Adam - everything in this name strikes me as perfection. The sound, the history and seeing it written... I am almost sure every Adam I met is a great guy because he has such a wonderful name.
River - I picture a very strong, dashing guy with that name. The handsome sound and the water association make it even more fantastic. Actually, I like it on a girl as well.

These are the ones I more than adore but will likely never use. I can't say popularity bothers me that much but these just don't fit in my situation

I was just about to start this thread myself! This is my list of meaningful names...

Alice - I think Alice is the sweetest name in the world! It's cute and it's a classic. One of my all-time favourites. Audrey - My grandmother's name, as well as the name of my favourite actress (and avatar), Audrey Hepburn. Beatrix - My current name obsession due to my adoration of BeatrixPotter.Christopher - Reminds me of ChristopherRobin and Christopher from Gilmore Girls!Darcy - Dashing Mr. Darcy is my inspiration for this one. For boys only. Elizabeth - My middle name, which I have always adored, and an enduring classic. Emma - This was my beloved cat's name so it's always had a special place in my heart. Gilbert - Old-fashioned, but this one reminds me of Anne of Green Gables. Dashing and romantic. Henry - A long adored favourite of mine. One of the quintessential classics. Susannah - My number one favourite girls name. Just beautiful. Victoria - A personal favourite as it's the name of my home state! An homage to my roots. William - My hands-down favourite boys name. Reminds me of Shakespeare. My grandfather's middle name.

@AugustaLee - I love all the names on your list - Sailor included! The only ones not on my long list are Sylvie (although I do have Sylvia) and Juniper (although I do have June). Nice choices! I especially love your assessment of Miranda - another of my favourites!

Cytheria- I majored in Classics for my undergraduate studies, and I had always loved tales of the GoddessAphrodite, but I never thought about using that name for my daughter. During my early ancient greek studies, I came across one of her epithets, Κυϑερέια which, translitered from Greek is either Cytherea or Cytheria, depending on whom you ask. The very next day my friend Anna, who is a songwriter and minor goddess herself, was playing at a festival and she sang a song she had written called "Cytheria", and it was beautiful and haunting. And that was the moment it occurred to me that Cytheria would be my future daughter. No matter what other girl name I try, this one I just love so much! <3

Sequoia - The first time I came out to the West Coast of the US, where I now live, I ended up a little bit turned around in this majestic, enchanted redwood grove in Northern California. The sun was streaming in through the branches, the dust motes were like little fairies in the air. The trees soared high above me, their diameters each bigger than my wingspan. I hadn't ever really had a boy name that I connected with that much, but at that second I knew my future son's name, should I have one, would be Sequoia, after these huge trees that I adored so much and just put my life in perspective. <3

Anakalypteria - Possibly the most ridiculously unusable name on my list, the anakalypteria was part of the marriage ceremony in ancient greece and literally translates as "unveiling". Poetic and lovely, inevitably butchered pronounciation-wise. Easily shortens to Ana or even Anaka. Might have to use it.

Astrid - One of my favorite books in my late teenage years, when I was truly defining myself was White Oleander by Janet Fitch. The main character is named Astrid, who is complex and well-written. I also love the meaning of "star", and, to me, Astrid is a bright beacon of awesomeness, even though I wouldn't use it as a FN.

Gavin - I always want to name my male protagonist in every romantic story I have ever written. I wouldn't use it for my son (probably because of that, haha!), but for some reason the name has always appealed to me!

Serena - is my Gavin counterpart. Many romantic fiction stories written by me in my teen years featured this as the name of the female protagonist. Again, I wouldn't use it for that reason, but I do SO adore it!

Orion - mythological, unusual, and visible sparkling in the sky every night with his bright belt of stars. What's not to love?

Enid - Short, sweet, quirky, and endlessly enchanting

Jonathan - so classic it is ridiculous, and yet I have always been enamored, hoping to marry a Jonathan one day (but I got Jeff instead, lol.)

Emerson - family name but also the surname of Ralph Waldo, one of my favorite authors and quotable figures